Do you love to write? Do you have some short story or novel that you aren’t sure what you want to do with? Do you want to earn money for your writing?
There are many options of how to sell your short story, novel or poetry. These websites and magazines offer the chance to sell your stories for a wider audience to read your work. Another way of advertising you and your work. Look for submission guidelines of their need for original work or republished to see if your piece will be eligible.
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Table of Contents
1 Flash Fiction Online
What are they looking for: They consider flash fiction a complete story in a tiny package. Furthermore, they want developed empathetic characters and discernible resolved plots.
Submission type: Flash fiction
Story Length: 500- 1,000 words
Pay: $0.08 per word (for original and unpublished fiction) £0.02 (Reprints)
2 One Story
What are they looking for: Seeking short stories of any style and on any subject as long as they are good. One story is looking for stories that leave readers feeling satisfied and are strong enough to stand alone.
Submission type: Literary fiction
Story Length: 3,000-8,000 words
Pay: $500 and 25 contributors copies for First Serial North American rights. All rights will revert to the author following publication.
3 Analog
What are they looking for: They publish science fiction stories in which some aspect of future science or technology is so integral to the plot that, if that aspect were removed, the story would collapse. Try to picture Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein without the science and you’ll see what I mean.
Submission type: Short stories (Up to 20,000 words), serials (40,000-80,000 words), fact articles and poetry.
Pay: $0.8- 0.$10 per word (short story) $0.06 per word (serials), $0.09 per word (article) and $1 per line of poetry.
4 Wattpad
What are they looking for: One of the largest libraries of stories on the internet which has primarily teen based stories. A lot of stories are FREE however, you can apply for paid programs (Wattpad paid stories). There is also a chance of publishing or adapting stories if you have a large enough audience and the quality of your story.
Amazing platform for feedback and cultivating an audience!
Submission type: All genres and completed original books.
Story Length: At least 50,000 words
Pay: Dependant on program
5 Fantasy & Science Fiction
What are they looking for: Fantasy & Science Fiction has no formula for fiction, but we like to be surprised by stories, either by the character insights, ideas, plots, or prose. The speculative element may be slight, but it should be present. We prefer character-oriented stories, whether it’s fantasy, science fiction, horror, humour, or another genre. F&SF encourages submissions from diverse voices and perspectives.
Submission type: All genres
Story Length: Up to 25,000
Pay: $0.08-0.12 per word
6 Cricketmag
What are they looking for: An award-winning children’s magazine, with stories for different age ranges: 6 months-3 years, 3-6, 6-9, 9-14, 7-10.
Submission type: Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, crafts and activities
Story Length: 1200–1800 words for most stories, 600–900 words for shorter pieces, 8-15 lines for poetry
Pay: £0.25 (stories and articles), $3 per line of poetry (max $25), $75 (activities, games and recipes)
7 The Sun Magazine
What are they looking for: The sun who has won the Pushcart Prize, publishes personal essays, fiction, and poetry. Personal stories that touch on political and cultural issues are welcome. They encourage submissions from writers of colour.
“Surprise us; we often don’t know what we’ll like until we read it.”
Submission type: Personal essay, fiction and poetry
Story Length: Up to 7,000
Pay: $300-2,000 (personal essay), $300-2,000 (fiction) $100-250 (poetry)
8 Asimov Science Fiction
What are they looking for: In general, we’re looking for “character oriented” stories, those in which the characters, rather than the science, provide the main focus for the reader’s interest. Serious, thoughtful, yet accessible fiction will constitute the majority of our purchases, but there’s always room for the humorous as well.
A good overview would be to consider that all fiction is written to examine or illuminate some aspect of human existence, but that in science fiction the backdrop you work against is the size of the Universe.
Submission type: Science fiction, borderline fantasy, slipstream and surreal fiction.
Story Length: up to 7,500 (short stories) up to 40 lines (poetry).
Pay: $0.08-0.10 per word (short stories) and $1 per line (poetry).
9 Strange Horizon
What are they looking for:
- Fiction from or about diverse perspectives and traditionally under-represented groups, settings, and cultures, written from a non-exoticizing and well-researched position.
- Unusual yet readable styles and inventive structures and narratives.
- Stories that address political issues in complex and nuanced ways, resisting oversimplification.
- Hypertext fiction, interactive fiction, and other stories that explore and exploit the forms available to us. If you have a work of this type that you think might be a good fit for Strange Horizons, please query us to discuss how to submit it.
Submission type: Speculative fiction, broadly defined.
Story Length: up to 10,000 (under 5,000 is preferred).
Pay: $0.10 per word
10 Pulp Literature
What are they looking for: Entertaining, accessible stories with a balance of serious and lighthearted stories. They accept more short fiction than novellas and want both plot and character.
Submission type: Short stories, novellas, poetry, comics, illustrations.
Story Length: 7,000-10,000 words (short stories), no limit for poetry.
Pay: $0.05-$0.08 per word (up to 7,000), $0.03-$0.06 per word (7,000-10,000) and $0.02-$0.04 per word (over 10000 words).
11 Clarkesworld
What are they looking for: Hugo, World Fantasy, and British Fantasy Award-winning science fiction and fantasy magazine. Accepting:
- Well-written. Language is important. There is no distinction between “style” and “substance” or “story” and “writing.”
- Convenient for on-screen reading. Very long paragraphs or typographical trickery may work against you.
- Suitable for audio. Stories should be equally effective, but not necessarily the same, in text and audio formats.
Submission type: Science fiction and fantasy. No horror, but dark SF/F is permitted.
Story Length: 1,000-22,000
Pay: $0.10 per word
12 Penpee
What are they looking for: All types of stories. Think of Penpee like an airbnb, you get paid upon reads.
Submission type: All story genres
Story Length: 3,000 (free account) 12,000 (premium membership)
Pay: They do not buy stories HOWEVER, you can write short stories and get paid when pages of your story have been read.
Free account earns 45% of reads and Premium earns 70% of revenue through reads.
13 Fireside
What are they looking for: Fireside Fiction Company started in 2012 as a Kickstarter-funded short-story magazine. We began with the goals of finding and publishing great stories regardless of genre, and paying our writers well.
Submission type: All genres
Story Length: 3,000
Pay: 12.5 cent per word or $400 for full-colour illustration.
14 Daily Science Fiction
What are they looking for: Daily Science Fiction (DSF) is a market accepting speculative fiction stories. They will consider flash series-three or more flash tales built around a common theme.
Submission type: Science fiction, fantasy, slipstream, etc.
Story Length: 100-1,500
Pay: $0.08 per word
15 Carve
What are they looking for:
- Carve seeks good honest fiction in the form of short stories.
- We want emotional jeopardy, soul, and honesty.
- Craft and control are tantamount to our connection to the characters.
Submission type: all genres
Story Length: unspecified
Pay: $100 (fiction) and $50 (poetry)
Something to consider when writing your story or submitting to one of these magazines or publishing sites is to read submissions if possible. This will give you a better idea of the work they have accepted and whether they will like your creation too.
Let me know if you have used any of these and your experiences in the comments. Until then.
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